Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Tomorrow will be too late – (born) digital in library special collections.

Tomorrow will be too late – (born) digital in library special collections. 28 June 2011.
Report from the annual conference of LIBER, the Association of European Research Libraries: It appears that according to recent studies, research libraries are still functioning within an analogue paradigm. Many libraries have digitized collections and provide online access, but their digitization efforts “mostly lack strategic planning, access is still mostly provided in a controlled way (for a limited group of users), preservation issues are still not being addressed adequately, and born-digital material (including audiovisual content) is blatently missing from collections and collection plans.”  If libraries stay in their comfort zone of digital access in a controlled network, their information role will become insignificant.  They need:
  • A knowledge of the user groups and their behaviours
  • Content, access, and preservation strategies
  • Strategic alliances
  • Permanent innovation
  • An open mind
 There are opportunities for libraries but they need to transition their methods.

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